Double-door lock assembly

ABSTRACT

A double-door lock assembly for closing article support structures has two cooperative doors hingedly supported at opposite ends with the free end of one door overlapping the free end of the other door in the closed position. A lock holds the lapping ends together and the biasing arrangement automatically swings the doors open when the lock is released.

United States Patent Bob P. Conrad [72] Inventor 4823 Eaton, Denver, Colo. 80212 2 1 Appl. No. a 835,405 [22] Filed June 23, I969 [45] Patented July 27, 1971 [54] DOUBLE-DOOR LOCK ASSEMBLY 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl...'. 2 20/35, 220/29 [5|] Int. Cl. 865d 43/16, B65d5l/l0.B65d5l/18 [50) Field of Search 220/29. 35. DIG. 26, 36; 49/367, 368; 70/69, 312; 206/41 B2 [56] Reierenees Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,859,772 5/1932 Hiering 206/41 B2 2,088,107 7/1937 Hassenfeld 220/29 2,535,455 12/1950 Reilly H 220/35 2,739,729 3/1956 Jonas 220/29 2,897,999 8/ l 959 Bishop 220/29 3,103,996 9/1963 Wyatt, Jr. 49/367 3,416,338 12/1968 Gehrie 70/69 3,463,345 8/1969 Bockenstette 220/29 Primary Examiner-George T. Hall Attorney.lohn E. Reilly ABSTRACT: A double-door lock assembly for closing article support structures has two cooperative doors hingedly supported at'opposite ends with the free end of one door overlapping the free end of the other door in the closed position. A lock holds the lappingends together and the biasing arrangement automatically swings the doors open when the lock is released.

drawings, in which:

nounLE-noonmcx ASSEMBLY.

This invention relates to a novel and improveddouble-door lock assembly which isreadily conformable to article support structures such as medicine cabinets and the like.

It is frequently desirable to preventaccess' to articles which are stored in a cabinet, locker, closet or similar article support structure. Medicinesand drugs are typical examples of such articles which are normally. retained in medicine cabinets and must be kept out of the hands of children orothers who do not appreciate the danger involved in the use thereof.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a double-door lock assembly for cabinets and the like which is easily managed, durable, and readily conformable to existing article support structures.

Another objectof this invention isto provide a-novel and improved double-door lock assembly which will not interfere with the normal use of other storage areas within a cabinet or thelike,

Yet a further objectof this invention is to provide a selfopening double-door lock assembly characterized by avpair of oppositely hinged doors disposed with adjacent overlapping ends releasably held together and adapted to automatically open when the lapped ends are released. 7

In accordance withthe present invention there isprovided an assembly which is readily conformable to a variety of shapes and sizes of article support structuresjcomposed of two cooperative doors adapted to be hingedly mounted at opposite other support areas or an .outerdooracross the entire face of the article support structure such as. that which is provided with a typical medicine cabinet. A biasing arrangement automatically moves the doors to an open position when the lock is released.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present in vention will become more. apparentas the description proceeds taken in conjunction with the accompanying FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a double-door lock assembly as mounted on an insertable oblong support member with the doors being disposed in the closedposition."

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a double-door lock assembly as shown in FIG. l withthe doors being disposed in the open position. p s

' F IG 3 is a front elevation view of a double-door lockassembly mounted in an upper portion of a medicine-type cabinet with its outer door-being open.

ElG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines of FIG. 3;

, sembly shown as exemplary of features of the presentinven tion comprises cooperative doors. 11 and 12 provided with butt-type hinges l3 and 14. at opposite ends, respectively, to

adapt the doors for swinging movement aboutthe opposite Means are provided to swing the doors to the open position shown in FIG. 2 which is in the form of a tension spring 21 mounted in place of one rounded section surrounding the pin of hinge 14. When the bolt of the lock mechanism is retracted the free end of door 12 will swing out against the endof door ll so that both doors are open. A spring 22 similar to spring 21 may also be provided in place of an upper section of hinge l3 toswing door 11 fully open. As best shown ihFlG. 5, a suitable tension spring has extensions 23 and 24 engaging the insides of the hinge and door, respectively, so that the hinge is under tension when the door is closed. While a tension spring has been shown associated with the hinge to automatically open the doors, it is understood that other various forms of biasing or force-applyingmeans may be used to automatically swingthe doors open once the lock is released.

The article support structure with which the abovedescribed double-door lock assembly may be associated may be a cabinet, case, locker, variety of vanities or the like but in general it will be in the form of an oblong enclosure open across the front and across which the overlapping doors will extend to close the face until access is required. One preferred doubl'e door lock assembly will include a support member 15 to which the doors are secured which functions as an insert and bottom walls 33 and 34 which is open at the front and rear structure of the closed structure so as not to interfere with ends between a closed. positionwherein the free end of door I 11 which is somewhat wider than door 12 overlapping the free lock mechanism. illustratedas of the combination type; holds' doors l1 and 12 closed and generally includes acasing 16' mounted on the outer surface of door 12 having a slidable bolt 17 which extends and retracts at the free end of thedoor accordingto the setting of control 18.disposed on the exterior of theecasing. A haspor. catch 19' is secured to the-insideof the overlapping door 11'. An end portion or area 1 In of thedoor' 11 is raised soas to clear the adjoining end'of the. lock casing 16 and provide alignment ofthe hasp l9 andcbolt l7.

and arranged so that it will insert into the cabinet or like structure. The insertable door support member 15 shown will preferably be stamped from a sheet of metal and have lips 35 along the rear edges which meet at the corners and are welded as at 36 for added strength. Holes 37 may be provided in the lower lips-to secure the assembly inside an article. support structure.

The double-door lock assembly is shown in place in the upper portion of a medicine cabinet 41 depicted in dashed lines. The height of the doors is less than one-half the internal height of the cabinet to allow for closure of the outer door 42. The doors 11 and l2-and hinges l3 and 14 are inset in the closed position from the outer face '43 of the cabinet as shown in FIG. 5 so they do not interfere with the other normal operation thereof. Support member 15 is shown as disposed on an upper shelf 44.

The use of an insertable member 15 permits the doors 11 and 12 to be-aligned and the lock mechanism adjusted prior to installation into a cabinet or the like and also makes installation generally easier. However, it is readily understood and appreciated that the .two doors with hinges as shown can readily be mounted on the opposite sidewall of the cabinet or like article support structure and located betweenthe top wall and an intermediate shelf or bottom wall and an overhanging shelf of an existing cabinet to close off the desired area.

As a further modification, the insertable support member 15 may be provided with horizontally and/or vertically arranged shelves to further divide it for small articles such as containers for medicines, drugs and the like.

While it is understood that different materials may be employed for the various parts hereinabove described without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, for medicine cabinet installations, I prefer to use rustproof materials, such as stainless steel hinges, springs and stainless steel panels.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example and that'changes in details of structure and system components maybe made without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is: l

l. A double-door lock assembly for cabinets and the like comprising two doors adapted to be hingedly supported at opposite ends for swinging movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the other door in theclosed position, means for locking the overlapped end "portions together in the closed position and door biasing" 2. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said locking means includes interfitting male and female lock elements mounted in an operative association along the overlapped ends of said doors.

3. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said automatic opening means includes a spring mounted in an operative association with the hinge for the overlapped door to swing the end of the overlapped door against the end of the overlapping door.

4. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said overlapping door is of a greater length than the overlapped door.

5. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim I wherein said locking means is a combination-type lock.

6. in a cabinet-type structure including an open face, a double-door lock assembly for closing said face comprising two doors hingedly supported at opposite ends from opposed sides of the cabinet for swinging movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the other door in the closed position, means to lock the overlapped end portions together in a closed position and door biasing means acting on the other of said doors and moving it against the overlapping end portion of said one door to automatically swing the free end of said other door outwardly against said one door to provide the sole opening force for automatically opening both doors when the locking means is released. I

7. in a cabinet-type structure as set forth in claim 6 further including a cabinet body and hinge supports for supporting said doors on said cabinet body, said doors and hinge supports being inset from the forward extremity of the cabinet body in the closed position.

8. In a cabinet-type article support structure including an open face bounded by spaced sidewalls and top and bottom walls, a double-door lock assembly comprising twoid oors having hinges at opposite ends secured along theinside of the sidewalls to support the doors for swinging'movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the otherdoor in closing the face of the structure, a combination-type lock mounted on the overlapped portion of said doors including a movable bolt adapted to extend along the overlapped door into a catch on the inside of the overlapping door, a tension spring operativcly associated with the hinge for the overlapped door and disposed along a removed section of the hingesurrounding its hinge pin and engaging the inner surfaces of the insides of the hinge and under tension when the door is in the closed position to swing the overlapped door against the overlapping door to swing said doors open when the lock is released. 

1. A double-door lock assembly for cabinets and the like comprising two doors adapted to be hingedly supported at opposite ends for swinging movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the other door in the closed position, means for locking the overlapped end portions together in the closed position and door biasing means acting on the other of said doors and moving it against the overlapping end portion of said one door to automatically swing the doors open when the locking means is released.
 2. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said locking means includes interfitting male and female lock elements mounted in an operative association along the overlapped ends of said doors.
 3. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said automatic opening means includes a spring mounted in an operative association with the hinge for the overlapped door to swing the end of the overlapped door against the end of the overlapping door.
 4. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said overlapping door is of a greater length than the overlapped door.
 5. A double-door lock assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said locking means is a combination-type lock.
 6. In a cabinet-type structure including an open face, a double-door lock assembly for closing said face comprising two doors hingedly supported at opposite ends from opposed sides of the cabinet for swinging movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the other door in the closed position, means to lock the overlapped end portions together in a closed position and door biasing means acting on the other of said doors and moving it against the overlapping end portion of said one door to automatically swing the free end of said other door outwardly against said one door to provide the sole opening force for automatically opening both doors when the locking means is released.
 7. In a cabinet-type structure as set forth in claim 6 further including a cabinet body and hinge supports for supporting said doors on said cabinet body, said doors and hinge supports being inset from the forward extremity of the cabinet body in the closed position.
 8. In a cabinet-type article support structure including an open face bounded by spaced sidewalls and top and bottom walls, a double-door lock assembly comprising two doors having hinges at opposite ends secured along the inside of the sidewalls to support the doors for swinging movement with the free end portion of one door overlapping the free end portion of the other door in closing the face of the structure, a combination-type lock mounted on the overlapped portion of said doors including a movable bolt adapted to extend along the overlapped door into a catch on the inside of the overlapping door, a tension spring operatively associated with the hinge for the overlapped door and disposed along a removed section of the hinge surrounding its hinge pin and engaging the inner surfaces of the insides of the hinge and under tension when the door is in the closed position to swing the overlapped door against the overlapping door to swing said doors open when the lock is released. 